I have to disagree that Mayanists have kept the Tortuguero passage to
themselves (ourselves), forn whatever reason. I posted the translation
here a few days ago in a very matter-of-fact way, which should indicate
that quite the opposite is true. And, anyway, it's not the way our
field works. I'm certain that if anyone had ever posed the question "Do
any Maya inscriptions mention 2012?" to us active epigraphers (me,
Houston, Martin, Mathews, Grube, Zender, Lacadena, Macleod, etc.), that
we would immediately say, "look at Tortuguero Monument 6." In these
days of email, discussion boards, and frequent open workshops like we
have at the Maya Meetings, there are endless opportunities to acquire,
exchange and disseminate information about this stuff, and that's a
wonderful thing. So, there is no "closed shop" in some ivory tower.
Remember, we're still in the midst of a remarkable time that continues
to assess the windfall that came from the recent decipherment, and
there's lots of catching up to do. Frankly, the Tortuguero passage,
buried in lots of other data, hasn't been a huge deal to most of us
because it is damaged and very, very ambiguous. There really isn't a
whole lot to say about it when all is said and done. And even if the
glyphs there were clear and legible, no Mayanist I know honestly
believes that the Classic Maya foresaw something that might actually
come true in our day and age.

David